Prayers. Peace. POWERFUL!

Thank you so much for all your prayers and encouragement! This week has been a great testimony to the power of prayer and the peace that can come even when the circumstances aren't great. It has been a great week!

Yesterday we got some great news.  The Bethany team in Ghana thinks they will have the paperwork that we need by next week.  That was not at all what I was expecting and I feel very hopeful and thankful. We will still have to wait for the approval and request a visa interview (currently scheduling about 2-3 weeks out).  After that, we can go get them and bring them home. Yaya!!!!!

Today we got the most amazing gift through a wonderful volunteer at the orphanage where are children are living right now. She sent these lovely photos and we are soaking them in! Until we get to pick them up we will regularly look at these photos and pray for our sweet kiddos! Thanks for coming along side us in prayer and life. We are so blessed!

Feeling sad and frustrated

After waiting patiently (OK, not always patiently) to hear from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for 4 weeks we finally get THREE letters in the mail today. They are all red. Red is not good.

We have to provide some more information before they will grant citizenship for our sweeties. I will not go into details but let's just say these documents will not be so easy to acquire. The Bethany team in Ghana already works such long hard hours and now we will be asking (begging) them to work longer and harder to try and come up with documents that don't currently exist. Blah!

Please pray for us. Pray for the team in Ghana as they work so hard on our behalf. Pray for our sweet kids who are very eager for us to come and get them. They call once a week and in their very limited English they only ask us to "Come!" Breaks my heart. every.time.

Meanwhile their beds are ready, their siblings are ready, their mom and dad are more than ready.

God please grant us the peace to walk this path a bit longer. Please be with Naa, Solomon, and Ebe as they work hard to help get the proof that has been demanded. Please help everything to go quickly and smoothly. Please hold Debo and Gabriel close and let them feel your love and comfort and care. Put in their hearts a knowledge that they have a family who loves them deeply and a Maker who loves them even more. Please put people in their lives to cuddle them and hold them. Please be with the orphanage staff and volunteers and give them strength to love our kids and the others. Please bless this process and sustain us in the days and weeks ahead. Amen.

Enjoying Summer

Well, our summer kicked off with quite a bang with a trip to Ghana to meet our precious additions. It's hard to believe we have been home almost 6 weeks!  We are so anxious to return and bring our babes home. For those who haven't seen it yet here is the video of our favorite moments from the first trip.  The songs are particularly special to us so turn up the volume and enjoy!

When we left for Ghana, Liz and Cael were still in school and when we returned summer was in full swing.  So naturally day #1 back in country consisted of a trip to Whitewater. ;-) I love watching the kids ride all their favorite water slides for the first time each summer and I enjoy relaxing in the pool chair as they hurry to the next adventure.  This time we were all quick to say things like, "Gabe will probably love this slide" and "Debo Grace will probably love this play area". We enjoyed pointing out how our family will fit on the big raft all together for the Bahama Bobslide and how we might pair off for some of the other tube slides. There is no question our sweet Ghanaian kiddos will be amazed and overjoyed at the sight of Whitewater. (perhaps a little over stimulated?!?!) We hope and pray they will be home to enjoy it this summer but if not we have a lot to look forward to next summer.

Following vacation bible school and a relaxing week at home and Whitewater each day we loaded up the car and made the drive to Rochester to visit old friends and neighbors. Highlights included visiting and playing with great friends, going to the Viola Gopher Parade, eating at favorite restaurants, playing a favorite parks and celebrating our new kids with a family adoption party.  We felt VERY loved and blessed by our sweet friends in Minnesota. It was surreal to consider this was likely our last family vacation as a family of four. We are so excited to fill the mini van with two more sweeties and start making memories as a family of six. 



When we returned from Minnesota the kids enjoyed a week at Creative Arts Camp, a day camp at our local church. The week capped off with a musical performance and Liz nailed her solo. It also happened to be our 15th wedding anniversary and we are so thankful for all the blessings of the past 15 years.

The kids and I made a drive down to Jacksonville last week and had a great time with friends and family.  We greatly enjoyed Christ's Church Freedom Fest complete with musical performances from Francesca Battestelli, Luminate, Sanctus Real, Matthew West and Michael W. Smith. The 2-day event was so much fun and ended with some great fireworks. Our  4 days in Florida ended with an AMAZING adoption shower thrown by my twin sister and two of my sister-in-laws.  It was such a wonderful night.  We celebrated Gabe and Debo Grace and were overwhelmed with thoughtful gifts, food and decorations. So blessed!!

 

 

We returned home just in time to celebrate a VERY rainy July Fourth with Adam. I got the bunk beds painted and the new quilts on the bed so now we are TOTALLY ready for these two to come home!!!

UPDATE on the paperwork: We got an email Monday that our officer will be processing our paperwork next week.  Please pray with us that everything is in order and there are no delays. Two of our fellow adoptive families have been asked for more evidence. It is so hard to wait and be patient! IF WE GET APPROVAL NEXT WEEK we will request a visa packet pickup for our children.  They will have a visa medical done and get passport pictures taken.  When that is complete we will request a visa interview for our children and when that is completed then we can go pick them up. So excited!!

We are home!

Wow! The last 24 hours are a bit of a blur.  I just took the most wonderful long hot shower of my life! ;-)

Yesterday morning we checked out of our hotel and went to see our children at the social worker's home.  It was a Ghanaian holiday and yet our sweet social worker was caring for our children in her own home and hosting us all day long. She is one of the most selfless, sacrificial and genuine people I have ever met. She works very long hours and cares for the "least of these" everyday. There is no doubt her reward in heaven will be so great because that is where she has stored up her treasure. Our lives are SO MUCH RICHER for the week we spent with her and we will always be grateful for the love she shows to our children and so many others.

She has prepared the kids for the day ahead and they knew that when we arrived they would be leaving her home and heading back to the orphanage to stay for awhile until Mommy and Daddy could return for them. This discussion had taken place several times over the week.  We all tried our very best to explain that the paperwork takes some time and we would be working very hard to come back as quickly as possible.  Our son is very smart and he has tried every way possible to negotiate a better way. He has told the social worker that she should make the papers now and let them go to America. Oh, if only it were that easy! He has asked, "what will happen if we just go without papers?" His little mind is trying so hard to come up with a better solution and unfortunately there isn't one. Needless to say when it was time to leave the social worker's home both of our children had pretty major meltdowns. The day did not start out well.  They wanted nothing to do with Adam or I and they really just wanted to cry and yell, so that is what they did. They were both forcibly put in the car and we started our long drive with a car full of tears.

About halfway to the orphanage we stopped to eat and finally had a pleasant time together. I was able to dance with our little girl and twirl her around. We shared lots of smiles and giggles. Our son loosened up and began playing and being silly. Thank goodness we had this time on our last day! I was  beginning to think our final day would be all tears and gloom.

When we got to the orphanage the kids were happy to show their photo books to all their friends and pass out some treats that we had brought. We enjoyed visiting with the pastor and his wife who run the home and then we left with some more tears. It was not great. Thank you for your prayers! I feel certain they have carried us home. We traveled all night and landed in NY very early this morning and then continued on to Atlanta.

We have enjoyed showing Liz and Cael all the photos and videos. It was so amazing to see the videos and photos from yesterday and I looked down as I was still wearing the same clothes. It seems like a week ago already and it was only yesterday. Clearly, that shower was needed and those clothes needed to be shed. ;-)

I am not allowed to post pictures and videos on any sort of public forum until we receive our official adoption order which will hopefully be next week. However, I am going to try and send a private message with all the footage before then. I'll let you know when I send it and then if you didn't receive it you can let me know. I know everyone is anxious for pictures and I am anxious to show off my babies!!!!! I hope it will be soon!!

We are so grateful!

Sunday in Ghana

This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!

This morning our driver picked us up at 8am and we went to pick up our social worker and children to go to church. We attended International Gospel Church in Accra, Ghana and it was awesome! To see a few thousand Ghanaian believers raising their hands and voices in praise of God was overwhelming at times. Many of these people have so little and yet their faith is massive. Adam and I both had moments of tears to see these beautiful people living out their faith. We feel so thankful and blessed that the heritage of our children is rooted in the gospel of Christ.

We were excited to recognize many of the songs and learn a few new ones.  The pastor was excellent and the entire service was on television.  We learned they even have a few community groups in America but none very close to us.  It really reminded us of Passion City Church back home. The children were not with us for the worship service but they were in the children’s church and nursery. They were both very hesitant to go in at first but they were fine when we picked them up at the end.

After church we went back to our social worker’s house so I could learn how to make our children’s favorite meal, banku. It was a fun experience. First we mixed corn dough and cassava dough together and then added a little salt and enough water to mix it up into a smooth liquid. Then we put it on the stove and continued to stir it as it boiled and thickened. Eventually it turned into a very thick paste and we were able to spoon it into little baggies and form them into balls.  We also made pepe which is very similar to American salsa. We put some tomato, onion, green pepper and salt into a bowl and mashed It with a round pistol until it was very mushy. Our American food processor would be an easy and quick way to get the same effect but our sweet hostess worked so hard at it. She also took a red fish and a tilapia fish seasoned with garlic, onion, and pepper and fried it in some oil to serve with the banku. These fish are fried whole with the heads and tails and skin. She put them on a plate with some fresh onion and peppers on top. Then, we all washed our hands in a bowl of water and proceeded to eat. No utensils required in Ghana…your hands are used for all items on this table. I really enjoyed the banku. I can see why my kids like it so much.  It is really a lot like grits except a smoother and thicker consistency. After you break off a piece and roll it around in your fingers for a bit then you dip it in the pepe and enjoy. Yum!  We also enjoyed picking apart the fish and our son and hostess both thoroughly enjoyed the fish heads. Most of the time they even eat  the bones. Usually there is nothing left on the plate.  (We have watched our son and hostess eat chicken bones, goat bones, and fish bones during this trip.)

These food items would normally be a meal but we didn’t prepare enough for a meal. We just used it as a training cooking session. So after we ate this little “snack” we headed to the Accra mall to walk around and play and eat a real meal.  Our daughter was acting very cranky and in need of a nap so we left her with the nanny and headed out with our son, the social worker/hostess, her son and the driver. The mall was very similar to the mall in America although it was much smaller and had a grocery store attached to it.  In the middle of the mall was a play area for the kids and for a small fee they could play for 30 minutes. It was very interesting to see our son walk in hesitantly unsure of what to try. He rode a little electric train and then a merry go round. When he looked at the large bounce house structure with a climbing wall and a slide he shook his head “no” and walked away.  We encouraged him to try it and he kept shaking “no”. Finally, Adam took him over to the entrance and gave him a little push in.  Of course, after he did it once he was hooked and went around and around several times. We really enjoyed watching him play and smile. After the play time we ate Chinese food. Yes! We ate Chinese food in Ghana! Actually our son requested Foofoo so we grabbed that at the restaurant next door and then settled in for some Chinese food.  It was all very delicious. We got some ice cream for dessert and brought some home for our little girl too. She was happy to see us and happy to have her ice cream. I got a few snuggles before we left them for the night.

I am already dreading our goodbye for tomorrow.  It makes my tears start even now as I type this. Please pray for us tomorrow. It will be a very long and difficult day.

Our plan is to get the kids some new shoes and then drive to their orphanage and spend some time there. We will leave in the afternoon to head back to the airport and catch our flight at 10pm. We will land in NY on Tuesday morning and then take a flight to GA where we will be so excited to see Cael and Liz! The next 48 hours will be full of many emotions!

God grant us wisdom and peace. Please comfort us in our sadness and be with our children when we leave. Please keep them safe and healthy and show them your love and our love through others. Please make this process go quickly and allow us to bring them home soon. Thank you for loving us so amazingly and for being the most perfect Father to all of these orphans and to us. Amen

Saturday in Ghana

It really feels like we have been here a long time.  To think it has only been 3 days is very shocking to us! We are really getting to know our kids well and each day we love them more and more.

-Our son can eat more in one meal than his mama. That boy loves to eat and he especially loves a Ghanaian dish called banku. It comes as a white round ball wrapped in cellophane. It is soft and mushy but a little pliable.  He pulls off a piece and rolls in into a ball in his fingers and then he dips it into a sauce that is similar to salsa. Adam and I enjoyed it as well.

-Our daughter loves rice.  She will eat all kinds of rice but if there are any vegetables in it she will pick them all out. She also loves chicken and fish.

-Our son has become an expert at Subway Surfer. ;-) He also is learning so many manners in how to ask mom for her phone politely.

-Our daughter has become an expert accessory. She clings to mom's neck and doesn't often let go. Legs around my waist and arms around my neck and off we go. Thankfully she is a little peanut so carrying her isn't too difficult. By the end of the day though I am tired. There will be time to break her of this habit but for now we only have 2 more days and I am loving all the close snuggling time.

-Our son loves to pick on his sister and then she copies eveything he says to make him mad. They are very typical siblings and this normalcy makes us feel happy.

Today we got to sleep in! Yay!  We were desperate for a good night's sleep. When we woke up our hotel security guard took us for a walk down the road to see the local river.  It was a beautiful view and we really ejoyed seeing all the locals out doing their early morning chores.  Many people passed by carrying their water on their heads. It is truly remarkable how much we take for granted in the states. One thing that was really ironic to me was the lady carrying a huge jug of water on her head and texting on her cell phone. True!

I really enjoyed passing out some smarties and lolipops to the local children. They were hesitant to take them at first but when their moms gave them the OK then they were all smiles. We also gave out some bubbles and raisins.  All of these things were very foreign to the children living near our hotel.

Speaking of our hotel, the road leading up to it is the bumpiest road I have ever encountered.  I am not exaggerating! There are divots and crevaces in this road that might be small mountains and we are driving up and down them everyday, several times. It is getting a bit old especially when our sweet girl gets sick. Again today she emptied the contents of her stomach all over herself and me. Thankfully, we were on our way to the beach and we were able to shed our nasty clothes and clean up.

We met the kids from the orphange at the beach today and had a wonderful time.  The highlights included:
-meeting all of the children that our kids have been living with for the past 3 months.
-meeting the house moms and dads and volunteers who have been taking care of our children.
-playing with all these very sweet kids who are starving for love and attention.
-watching Adam throw the boys into the waves as they giggled and yelled. (many of them were stark naked, by the way). ;-)
-feeling my little girl still snuggled around me or close to my leg holding my hand the whole day even while the house mother who speaks her language and has been caring for her for 3 months is standing right there.
-buying our son a coke and watching as he shared it with all of his friends. They each took a small swig.

After the beach we went to a wonderful place for dinner and enjoyed trying the banku and some other delicious dishes. Adam got the fish and chips. It was quite different from what we are used to as the fish was whole...head and all. He enjoyed it!

Following dinner we drove about an hour to the orphange and saw where are kids have been living.  It is full of many wonderful people and a lot of love. Certainly the conditions could be better but for a rural village in Ghana it is not so bad. The kids did not mention staying and were anxious to leave when the time came. They are staying in town this week while we are here at the home of their social worker who is with us all the time. We would do anything to bring them home with us now. But as it stands they will be in the orphange for another few months. We know they are in good hands and our reunion will be sweet when it comes. Tonight when they dropped us off at our hotel both kids really wanted to stay with us. That is not acceptable at this stage in the process so we kissed them goodbye and sent them with the social worker. This is preparing us for Monday night when we fly back to the U.S. It will be difficult.

We are so tired after this long day and very excited to sleep tonight. I am once again borrowing this computer so you will have to wait for all the pictures until we return to America. Sorry!!

Thank you so much for your prayers. I am confident they are keeping me from puking on these roads and my back from breaking with all this carrying. ;-) Adam is also doing great!

We Passed Court!

Today we woke up early once again to head to Cape Coast for court.  Thankfully the judge was feeling well enough to come into work today and we were the first case called back to her chambers.  We sat on a couch with our new children and waited patiently as they deliberated our case.  It was VERY stressful.  The first words that the judge spoke were, "It says in the law that for cases of adoption the new parents must live in the country for 2 years before the adoption is final."  Adam and I looked at each other and felt a bit of panic.  We were already profusely sweating and this discussion did not make us feel any better.  Thankfully, this is just a normal process of discussion and within 15 minutes our lawyer had everything cleared up and explained to the judge.  Bethany has been so well organized with our paperwork and the proceedings that they felt very confident that we would pass. After the stressful, HOT 15 minutes the judge said, "These children will now be known as Gabriel Thompson and Debora Thompson.  Yay!!!!!  We are so thrilled!!!!!

The other family we were with also passed court for their daughter and we all went and celebrated with a nice meal together.  We all felt very relieved and excited! We drove 3 hours back to the hotel and got to have our first REAL fun of the trip.  We took the kids swimming and we had a blast!!!  I have some awesome pictures to share but I am borrowing a computer from the hotel where we are staying and the pictures are not accessible here.  I promise I will post pictures as soon as I am able.

The best and hardest conversation of the day was this:
Son: "Daddy, will you bring me home to America in 2 weeks?"
Dad: "No, son, it will take a bit longer than that. We have to get your passports and visas."
(Adam took our passports out and showed him what they look like.) "These things take time."
Son: "So 2 weeks you will come back?"
Dad: "It will probably be 6 weeks or a little more but we will come back as soon as we can."
Son: "Well can you go to America and get my bike and bring it back so I can ride it while I wait?"

Sweet boy!!!

Tonight our son did not cry as he said goodbye to us but he did confirm we would be seeing him in the morning and I would be charging my iphone for the night. ;-)  He also squeezed Adam's neck for a VERY long time....there has been a lot of bonding going on.  Today he also taught me a lovely song in the van that I was able to video record.  I will look forward to sharing it on here soon.

For now, we are going to go to bed and enjoy a full night's sleep.  Tomorrow we are hoping to meet up with the children from the orphange where our kids live.  They will be at a nearby beach.  From there, we will go back to the orphanage and meet our children's friends and caregivers.  We are very excited!

We already love these children so much and are very excited to get them home! Thank you so much for you love and prayers!!!  We can feel every bit of them!